Cracking photo on the front page of today's SUN, showing some Booties, still wearing their red Santa hats, while retaliating to an attack by the T*liban during the lad's carol service. Is it just me, or can anyone else imagine the furore if 'Western' forces had attacked them during an Eid festival. Mind you, singing isn't allowed in T*liban land, or maybe they just don't have anything to sing about! Well done lads and a Very Merry Christmas. :rendeer: :w00t: :rendeer: :whew:

He said: â€œI was on a tour of camps on December 25th last year. In the morning we had flown a goat out to the Gurkhas to make a curry before we raced out to the 40 Commando Royal Marines at Forward Operating Base Inkerman in Northern Helmand.

â€œThe camp is surrounded by mountains and desert and we were experiencing Afghanistanâ€™s coldest winter for 20 years â€“ but the lads were still in really high spirits. They were in the middle of a traditional carol service â€“ complete with Santa hats and songsheets â€“ when they came under attack from the Taliban, who had targeted one of the checkpoints.

Well, stab me!! I was just out and about yesterday, saw the SUN front page, read the headline etc and rushed to tell you guys!! Anyway, some publicity is better than no publicity, so my comments till stand, well done you Booties and hope this year is better.

I have to admit that was my initial thought. A bunch of guys larking about with a digital camera taking funnies for posterity, etc. Not sure how the Scum got hold of it thought but these days everyone is a bit of a David Bailey and we all habitually carry a camera or mobile phone.

All joking aside if it were real there would be a whole bunch of bods in the MOD getting upset about potential compo claims for not kitting out the boys correctly. I'm not sure it really serves our PR wagon all that well. It doesn't look professional which is an unfair reflection of us.

Having seen first hand the damage that incoming does to skin and bone if it isn't properly protected I would be extremely surprised if the lads didn't take a couple of seconds to gear up correctly before returning fire. Simply physics of self-preservation IMHO.

Just to clarify I was at Inkerman during this carol service and it was 2007. The FOB was not actually attacked but it was Friendly mortars firing which sent everyone scarpering, as no warning had been given. The carol service reconvened only to be broken up again due to the FOB actually coming under fire.

And yes the mortars lads wear full osprey etc when they are firing for real or the FOB is under attack.